On May 20–23, 2025, the XLII International School of Hydraulics (ISH2025), organized by the Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, took place at the Radocza Park Active & SPA Hotel. The event was attended by 75 participants from different countries, representing the scientific community, public administration and companies operating in the field of water management.
The School of Hydraulics is a cyclical conference, organized since 1981, dedicated to the issues of hydrodynamics and environmental hydraulics. It focuses on challenges related to water, such as droughts, floods, and pollution. It highlights the role of hydraulics in understanding and managing aquatic ecosystems. The conference brings together experts from science and industry, including young researchers, creating an atmosphere for scientific discourse, knowledge exchange, collaboration, and learning. Participants get to know the latest achievements, discuss challenges, and outline the directions for future research. The conference also serves as a platform for young scientists to present their research and gain experience essential for their future careers.
The conference was preceded by intensive workshops held on May 19. Participants had the opportunity to take part in two courses:
• River flow modeling using HEC-RAS, led by prof. Tomasz Dysarz.
• Free flow modeling using FLOW-3D HYDRO, led by Michał Woś and Janusz Filipczyk.
These workshops provided participants with practical skills in hydraulic modeling, using real spatial data.
The Conference Chairs – Assoc. Prof. Monika Kalinowska and Prof. Paweł Rowiński – director of the Institute of Geophysics PAS – officially opened the conference on May 20. Opening speeches were given by, among others, Ana Maria Ferreira da Silva, vice president of IAHR, and Bogusław Borowski and Michał Piórecki from the Regional Water Management Board in Kraków.
The conference included numerous thematic sessions, poster presentations and plenary lectures. The invited lecturers included outstanding specialists from Poland and abroad, including:
- • Prof. Corrado Gisonni (University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Italy)
- • Prof. Petra Amparo López Jiménez (Valencia University of Technology, Spain)
- • Prof. Tomasz Okruszko (Warsaw University of Life Sciences)
- • Dr. Kaisa Västilä (Aalto University / Finnish Environmental Institute SYKE)
- • Assoc. Prof. Tomasz Dysarz (Poznań University of Life Sciences)
- • Prof. Anastasios I. Stamou (National University of Technology in Athens, Greece)
An important point of the program was a special session devoted to the flood that hit Europe in 2024. In addition to several presentations on this topic, a panel discussion was organized entitled “Flood 2024 in Europe – Lessons Learned: Understanding, Responding, and Preparing for the Future”. The panellists discussed the causes, effects and conclusions of this event, as well as strategies to reduce the consequences of similar floods in the future.
As part of the conference program, participants had the opportunity to visit the Porąbka Żar hydroelectric power plant, which is not normally open to visitors. This allowed for practical familiarization with the functioning of the hydrotechnical infrastructure and exchange of experiences with the facility’s employees.
The XLII International School of Hydraulics was not only a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experiences, but also an opportunity to establish new contacts and cooperation between representatives of various environments related to water management.
Photo credit: Łukasz Przyborowski